The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery

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The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery
Stlouisbank.JPG
Lobby card
Directed byCharles Guggenheim
John Stix
Written byRichard T. Heffron
Produced byCharles Guggenheim
StarringSteve McQueen
David Clarke
Crahan Denton
CinematographyVictor Duncan
Edited byWarren Adams
Music byBernardo Segall
Production
company
Charles Guggenheim & Associates
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • September 10, 1959 (1959-09-10) (United States)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery

The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery (also called The St. Louis Bank Robbery, the film title in the opening credits) is a 1959 heist film, directed by Charles Guggenheim and starring Steve McQueen as a college dropout hired to be the getaway driver in a bank robbery.

Based on a 1953 bank robbery attempt of Southwest Bank in St. Louis, the film was shot on location in 1958. It featured some of the men and women from the St. Louis Police Department, as well as local residents and bank employees, re-enacting their roles during the actual robbery attempt.[1] Steve McQueen was an unknown actor when filming began. Later in 1958 he had a breakout role as Josh Randall in the TV series Wanted Dead or Alive and gained national recognition.

Plot[]

Steve McQueen in The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery

George Fowler (Steve McQueen), a former collegiate football star, is recruited for a bank robbery gang by Gino (David Clarke), the brother of George's estranged flame, Ann (Molly McCarthy). Gino is an ex-convict, cold and unstable. Although agreeing only to be the get-away driver, George is coerced deeper into the plot by the gang leader John Egan (Crahan Denton). Gino pressures George to reconnect with his sister Ann, in order to get a subsistence stake to tide the gang over until the robbery. The gang members seethe with mutual dislike and distrust.

Seeing Gino leaving the gang's bank surveillance, Ann presses George and deduces that they plan a bank robbery. She attempts to derail the plot by scribbling a warning to George on the bank's window. But this is seen by the 4th gang member, Willy (a minion of John's from prison). John and Willy burst into George's and Gino's lodgings to track down the betrayal. Gino reveals his sister Ann's identity and past relationship with George. The gang force George to take them to Ann's apartment, where he is sent away. Gino also abandons Ann on John's orders. John hurls Ann to her death from the fire escape, playing out revenge for his abusive mother. Told that Willy will be the driver, George is forced to a role inside the bank.

The next day, the robbers begin their heist. They neglected to bring a police-frequency scanner and are unaware that the bank had relocated a switchboard from the lobby, elements that foil key aspects of their plan. An employee triggers the silent alarm, and police swarm the bank exterior. John is shot while attempting escape behind a female hostage. Gino commits suicide in the basement vault. After briefly considering a battle with police, Willy flees, but is pursued.

George initiates a panicky escape behind another female hostage, but stops when her husband offers himself in her stead. Having learned that Ann was killed, George tries to surrender his pistol to a bank customer, who pushes it back to the sobbing, broken George. He is dragged into a paddy wagon, and sees the world receding behind metal bars.

Cast[]

  • Steve McQueen as George Fowler
  • Crahan Denton as John Egan, the gang boss
  • David Clarke as Gino, Ann's brother
  • James Dukas as Willy, the driver
  • Molly McCarthy as Ann, George's ex-girlfriend and Gino's sister
  • Martha Gable as Eddie's wife
  • Larry Gerst as Eddie

Reception[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ The St. Louis Bank Robbery at IMDb

External links[]

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